Some Direction Needed for Someone Finally Getting Their Life Together

Mundu

Mundu

Mundu

Soldato
Joined
31 Aug 2004
Posts
4,626
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SGC
The past 2 weeks have been fantastic for me! I've finally managed to get myself fit again thanks to some new medication and am finally trying to sort out what direction I'm going in instead of being stuck at home in pain all day long unable to venture outside.

I did my GCSEs and got fine grades and planned to do 3 A Levels and go to uni but because I've been seriously ill I'm in my 3rd year of 6th form and have one D in AS IT and should have 2 AS Levels in Art and Photography at the end of this school year.

My teachers and careers advisor have said the best thing for me to do would be to eith do a HND or foundation course and then go onto my degree as I really don't want to continue doing Art and Photography as I dispise the courses. I'm also concerned about these being vocation courses as I wanted to follow a more acedemic route.

The main problem is I have no idea what I would really like to do. There are a lot of things I'd like to try but career wise how can I choose what I want to do for the rest of my life with all the possibilitys there are? I obviously want to be paid well and do something I enjoy but I really have no idea what I would enjoy. I've been on Fast Tomato and been reccomended careers and picked what sounds interesting but I reallu have no idea what each of the careers really entails. For example I'd think all an air traffic controller would do is guide planes around all day but there must be something more to it I just don't know what.

These are what I've selected from the site anyway so you can get a slight idea of what I may be interested in:

Computer games designer
Radio / TV / film production assistant
Production manager
Medical technical officer
Photojournalist
I.T. - Network manager
Print manager/technologist
Photographer
Information scientist
Artist / designer
Software developer /Computer programmer
Architectural technologist
Air traffic controller
Forensic scientist
Aviation - pilot (fixed and rotary)
Architect
Multimedia designer / developer

People have said what do I enjoy doing and basically computers and hardware are my main thing but there are other things I'd like to try out that I don't know much about, Egyptology and Philosophy for example.

Basically I want to figure out what I want to do in the long term so I can decide what course I'm going to take after this year because atm I'm finiding it hard enough to concentrate on the work I've got because this is alway on my mind.

Maybe i'm thinking this over too much as I don't know anyone else who has really looked into these thing but other students seemed to have just picked subjects at face value and taken a gung ho attitude towards things.
 
You sound very much like me.
When I had to choose what to do at uni I had no idea, nor any idea what i wanted to do after that. I made a mistake and went for Media Studies when I had the grades to do Law or English at Cardiff. But looking back on it, none of the courses I chose really interested me enough that I wanted to spend 3 years doing it. Now that I've almost graduated I've realised I want to do something computer related so I'm going to do a Msc in Computer Games Software Design if I can raise the funds.
I haven't got any real advice, just letting you know that a) you're not alone (I felt alone when I was deciding because everyone else seemed so certain about what they wanted to do) and b) if you do end up doing something you regret doing, there's always a way of rectifying it. :)
 
I want to do something computer related so I'm going to do a Msc in Computer Games Software Design if I can raise the funds.
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Where are you going to do that? It's a possibility for me to do an Msc in Computer Games Programming after my degree (long way off, I'm barely half way through year 1 out of 4) but I'm not sure what places would be good for it.

Mundu, I'd say it's probably a bad idea to specialise in computer games design so early on. I think Haly's approach is better (although try to pick a degree course that you'll enjoy more). I looked at a game design type course at Portsmouth and to be honest it looked pants. Others might be better but I think many developers are still skeptical of such courses.

I was lucky in that I've known for a long time what I want to do with my life. My only choices were between a games course or regular computer science (turned out to be an easy choice) and where I wanted to do it (I think the third year game project was what made me choose Bristol :D).

Maybe you should research each of those jobs and find out exactly what it would be like to do them for a living. Then see if you can imagine yourself enjoying them. To me it seems a lot of people like the idea of computer programming (the ability to make your own stuff on the PC is quite appealing) but when it comes down to what it actually involves they don't like it.
 
Psyk said:
Where are you going to do that? It's a possibility for me to do an Msc in Computer Games Programming after my degree (long way off, I'm barely half way through year 1 out of 4) but I'm not sure what places would be good for it.
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Staffordshire University :) Went for it as it's a 2 year course technically, 1 year just at the Uni then an industrial placement year so I'm hoping it might get me somewhere. Fingers crossed anyway, I reckon i'll enjoy it if nothing else which to me is the main thing. No point doing something you hate.
 
Picking a degree is difficult. Whatever you pick, you need to be picking something for the right reasons, which for me are picking something you are really interested in and enjoy, even if its not necessairly what you think you should do. Most people won't end up using their degrees at all in their furutre career, so I wouldn't spend too much time trying to define the rest of your life by your degree choice.

I can attest to picking a degree because you think it will be useful for getting a job is the worst approach. Being three-quarters of the way through a degree i basically loath, I can only say pick something you enjoy above all. My degree has nearly driven me to breaking point, and sometime I think i'm going completely mental.

so in summary, pick something you'll enjoy, and think carefully about that, and do your research carefully on degrees.
 
Sparky191 said:
I consider what you can make a living at. No point doing a course then realising you can't make a living at it.
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No point doing something you hate and that bores you to death for 3 years either :)
 
Your list of possible careers is fairly technical so I would definitely consider a BSc or BEng course. There's less competition for those places too.

The media jobs you listed are tough to get into whatever your degree. Join some of the Uni clubs (such as the paper, radio, photography club etc) and get some experience there. That shows a bit of commitment to a future employer if that's the route you want to go down after graduation.
Just take care to balance the study needs of your degree against the extra curricular stuff. I only just juggled a Physics Masters with working on the student paper and radio.

EDIT: Oh, and best of luck with whatever you choose of course.
 
Well first of all, hope you are much better and I wish you luck with whatever you chose to do! :)

Im doing an HNC in Graphic Design part time, its pretty good. You'd use your skills in art and Photography, but it would lead to a job.
But theres much more to it than that and it would be ideal for a few things on your list - maybe its the kindof thing that would interest you?
 
Thanks for the info guys. What are MScs, BScs and BEngs all university courses then? D4VE is a HNC like a HND a more vocational qalification or something different?
 
Bsc = Bachelor in Science iirc while BEng is Bachelor in Engineering and you also have BA which is Bachelor in Art.
It may be of rather than in...

Basically that's what regular degrees are :) It just depends on what the subject is in, i.e. an arts subject or scientific subject.

An Msc is a Masters in Science, there's also MAs and MEngs (Masters in Arts and Masters in Engineering). You take Masters after you've completed your degree usually. I think there are some degrees where you have 3 years of gaining the degree and then a fourth year to get the masters.
 
Mundu said:
For example I'd think all an air traffic controller would do is guide planes around all day but there must be something more to it I just don't know what
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I can assure you there's a lot more to it than that. Air Traffic Control is a very rewarding career, is well paid and comes with a lot of perks.
It's not the sort of job you'll just walk into though, around one in every thousand applicants actually get accepted and pass the training course. There is a big recruitment drive on at the minute which you could benefit from.

If you'd like more info or would like to visit an air traffic control unit to see if it would suit you, feel free to ask.

You can add me to MSN if you like, [email protected]


EDIT: Check out http://www.natscareers.co.uk/
:)
 
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Mundu said:
T There are a lot of things I'd like to try but career wise how can I choose what I want to do for the rest of my life with all the possibilitys there are?
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Don't worry so much - what you choose now isn't set in stone forever you know! There's always choices along the way if you decide you don't like what you're doing. Keeping that in mind you may well be better off doing some sort of foundation course where you can dabble and try out a few different things.
 
hi, my names Stuart, im 24 and i still have no idea what i want to do with my life!!

I think that this is a growing trend. Ive 4 alevels and a lot of PC/IT experience but as ive no qualifications to back up what i know its very hard to get in anywhere on an alright wage.
 
I'm like you ^.

I'm 22, 3 medium A-levels and a good As-Level and a 2:2 degree, yet i've applied for graduate schemes for IT but only got one potential interview at the moment. I'm thinking of doing something other than IT if i get no more potential interview but I haven't decided yet.
 
Thanks for the info.

Scuzi thanks for the site it has a lot of info on there and I live very close to Heathrow so will definitely look in to this further.
 
Mundu said:
Thanks for the info.

Scuzi thanks for the site it has a lot of info on there and I live very close to Heathrow so will definitely look in to this further.
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Well I work at London Terminal Control Centre in West Drayton just up the road from Heathrow and should be able to organise a tour of the place. You can chuck any questions you have at me and should be able to plug in with a controller and watch them work for a while.

Email is in my sig.
 
Haly said:
No point doing something you hate and that bores you to death for 3 years either :)
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Doing something that earns you a decent living doesn't have to be boring.

Theres a lot of rubbish courses/degrees out there. Don't end up with/on one.
 
Sparky191 said:
Theres a lot of rubbish courses/degrees out there. Don't end up with/on one.
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I agree, but a rubbish course is not necessarily one which doesn't have an immediate application to earning a living. If you're really into fine art or history, then do a fine art degree or a history degree. Or even a history of art degree! Just make sure that the couse isn't a joke before you accept a place on it.
 
Arcade Fire said:
I agree, but a rubbish course is not necessarily one which doesn't have an immediate application to earning a living. If you're really into fine art or history, then do a fine art degree or a history degree. Or even a history of art degree! Just make sure that the couse isn't a joke before you accept a place on it.
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Ok well thats two different points then.

1) Don't do a rubbish course.
2) Consider how you'll make a living.
 
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